Impact of breastfeeding on the intelligence quotient of eight-year-old children.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the influence of breastfeeding on the intellectual capacity of children from a cohort in a developing country, with a control for the main confounding factors. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was performed including all infants born in the hospitals of a medium-size city, and a random sample of these newborns was monitored at 30, 90, and 180 days of life, and at age 8 years. Several aspects of breastfeeding were assessed in the follow-up and, at 8 years, general intellectual capacity was assessed through the Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices test. The statistical analyses used Student's t-test, ANOVA, and linear regression and logistics, considering p-values less than 0.05 as statistically significant associations. RESULTS: At age 8 years, 560 children were assessed with Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices test. The average score was 22.56 points, with a standard deviation of 5.93. The difference in the averages found between the breastfed and non-breastfed groups at six months of age was 1.33 (p=0.008). Mother's and child's skin color, social and economic class, maternal education and smoking, and breastfeeding at six months of age (p=0.007) were still associated with the outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Children that were breastfed for six months or more had better performance in the general intellectual assessment, even after adjusting for the main confounding factors.

Impacto do aleitamento materno no coeficiente de inteligência de crianças de oito anos de idade / Impact of breastfeeding on the intelligence quotient of eight-year-old children

OBJETIVO: O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar a influência do aleitamento materno na capacidade intelectual de crianças pertencentes a uma coorte de um país em desenvolvimento, controlando para os principais fatores de confusão. MÉTODOS: Foi realizado um estudo de coorte prospectiva com todos os recém-nascidos nos hospitais de uma cidade de porte médio e acompanhou-se uma amostra aleatória destes aos 30, 90 e 180 dias de vida e aos 8 anos. No acompanhamento foram avaliados diversos aspectos da amamentação e, aos 8 anos, foi realizada avaliação da capacidade intelectual geral aplicando-se o Teste de Raven. As análises estatísticas utilizaram Teste T, ANOVA e regressão linear e logística, considerando como associações estatisticamente significativas aquelas cujo valor de p foi inferior a 0,05. RESULTADOS: Aos 8 anos 560 crianças participaram da avaliação com o Teste de Raven. A média da pontuação das crianças no teste foi de 22,56 pontos com desvio padrão de 5,93. A diferença de médias entre os grupos em aleitamento materno ou não, aos seis meses, foi de 1,33 (p = 0,008). Permaneceram associadas ao desfecho, após regressão linear e logística, a cor materna e da criança, classe socioeconômica, escolaridade e tabagismo maternos e o aleitamento materno aos 6 meses de idade (p = 0,007). CONCLUSÕES: As crianças que mamaram por seis meses ou mais tiveram melhor desempenho na avaliação intelectual geral, mesmo após ajuste para os principais fatores de confundimento.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the influence of breastfeeding on the intellectual capacity of children from a cohort in a developing country, with a control for the main confounding factors. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was performed including all infants born in the hospitals of a medium-size city, and a random sample of these newborns was monitored at 30, 90, and 180 days of life, and at age 8 years. Several aspects of breastfeeding were assessed in the follow-up and, at 8 years, general intellectual capacity was assessed through the Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices test. The statistical analyses used Student's t-test, ANOVA, and linear regression and logistics, considering p-values less than 0.05 as statistically significant associations. RESULTS: At age 8 years, 560 children were assessed with Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices test. The average score was 22.56 points, with a standard deviation of 5.93. The difference in the averages found between the breastfed and non-breastfed groups at six months of age was 1.33 (p = 0.008). Mother's and child's skin color, social and economic class, maternal education and smoking, and breastfeeding at six months of age (p = 0.007) were still associated with the outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Children that were breastfed for six months or more had better performance in the general intellectual assessment, even after adjusting for the main confounding factors.

Desempenhos nas duas tarefas do subteste dígitos do WISC-III e do WAIS-III / Performances in the forward and backward digit span in the WISC-III and WAIS-III

O subteste Dígitos está incluído no WISC-III e no WAIS-III, constituindo uma medida de atenção e memória de trabalho. Considerando que o desempenho em cada parte desse subteste implica em funções cognitivas diferentes, a determinação dos padrões de desempenho e das discrepâncias pode ser útil na investigação clínica. O artigo apresenta os resultados das amostras de normatização brasileiras dos testes WISC-III e WAIS-III nas ordens direta e inversa dos dígitos, analisando-se as discrepâncias entre cada uma delas. Os sujeitos recordaram mais dígitos na ordem direta do que na inversa. No WISC-III, a mediana da quantidade máxima de dígitos que as crianças memorizaram foi de cinco na ordem direta e três na ordem inversa. No WAIS-III, a mediana alcançada pela amostra foi de cinco dígitos na ordem direta e de quatro na inversa. O número de dígitos retido foi menor que o reportado para as amostras de normatização americanas.

Digit Span subtest is comprised in the WISC-III and WAIS-III and it constitutes an attention and working memory measure. Assuming that performance in each part of this subtest implies in different cognitive functions, the determination of performance patterns and of discrepancies can be useful in clinical evaluation. The present article shows the results of the samples of Brazilian standardization of the tests WISC-III and WAIS-III in the forward and backward orders of the digits, analyzing the discrepancies between each of them. Subjects remembered a larger number of digits in the forward than in the backward. In WISC-III, the median of the maximum amount of digits retained by children was five digits in the forward and three in the backward. In WAIS-III, the median was five digits in the forward and four digits in the backward. The number of digits retained was lower than the reported for the American standardization samples.

Habilidades cognitivas de crianças e adolescentes com distúrbio de aprendizagem / Cognitive profile in children and adolescents with learning disabilities

Distúrbio de aprendizagem é um problema escolar e social, sendo uma das principais causas de encaminhamento de crianças para avaliação psicológica. Esta pesquisa teve por objetivo investigar habilidades cognitivas de crianças e adolescentes com distúrbio de aprendizagem. Neste estudo foram avaliadas 263 crianças de escolas públicas com o teste de inteligência WISC-III. A amostra constituiu-se de alunos entre 6 e 16 anos (média=9 anos), sendo 69,2 do sexo masculino. Problemas na leitura e déficit de atenção foram identificados como fatores mais comuns no grupo estudado. Os subtestes Informação, Semelhanças, Aritmética, Dígitos, Código e Arranjo de Figuras foram os que apresentaram menores escores caracterizando o perfil ACIDAS. Quanto à capacidade intelectual geral, a média do QI Total foi classificada como limítrofe. Os resultados evidenciaram uma discrepância entre o raciocínio verbal (QI Verbal=82) e não-verbal (QI Execução=80). De acordo com a literatura, a discrepância esperada seria no sentido inverso.

Learning disability is an important school and social problem, being one of the principal causes of the children referred for psychological evaluation. The purpose of this study was to investigate cognitive abilities from children and teenagers with learning disabilities. Data were gathered from 263 children and adolescents from public schools evaluated with WISC-III. The sample was constituted of students from 6 to 16 years old (median=9) with higher incidence in boys (69,2). Problems in the reading and deficit of attention had been identified as the most common factors in the studied group. Information, Similarities, Arithmetic, Digit Span, Coding and Picture Arrangement were the lowest subtests characterizing ACIDAS profile. The general intelligence mean scores was considered as borderline. The results evidenced a discrepancy between verbal (Verbal IQ=82) and performance reasoning (Performance IQ=80). According to the literature about learning disabilities, it was expected that VIQ